Over the years, edtech tools have evolved to sustain the modern learning ecosystem. With 99% of colleges and universities using a learning management system, it's clear an LMS is a necessary and integral part of the academic experience. Institutions rely on these platforms to enhance learning experiences and support constant changes in education. Like education, LMS has evolved to meet the needs of a more tech-savvy and digitally literate generation of educators and students. With features that advance all modalities of learning, a modern LMS provides a richer experience for its users. To that end, institutions are migrating to more innovative and user-friendly systems to sustain and facilitate growth. Still, with so many options available, institutions want to ensure they have the best LMS to support their educators and learners. In this article, we will discuss how to choose the best LMS and what makes LMS migration easier for colleges and universities.
LMS evaluation framework: What higher education institutions need
| Migration Pillar | Critical Requirement | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Learning modalities | Support for hybrid/remote | Ensures quality across all academic experiences |
| Scalability | Adaptable to growth | Future-proofs the institution against edtech shifts |
| Integrations | Third-party tool compatibility | Keeps existing workflows intact and expands course capabilities without rebuilding from scratch |
| Insights | Performance analytics | Identifies effective teaching and optimizes student success |
| Assessment | Embedded assessment tools & automated grading | Reveals what students understand and frees educators to focus on instruction |
| Community | Extended user support | Adds value through peer collaboration and expert forums |
A hassle-free approach to LMS migration
While the process requires a strategic plan, LMS migration from a legacy platform to a new platform doesn't have to be difficult. Thanks to modern advancements in edtech, migrations have become more streamlined, making the length of a migration a matter of choice and not an obligation. With the right LMS, an institution can choose to migrate at a pace that works best for its community. Another key concern is adoption and usability. It's true that administrators, faculty, and students will need time to get used to a new system, but the learning curve can be reduced with a user-friendly interface and strong partnerships.
5 steps to a successful higher ed LMS migration
With preparation and organization, LMS migration is possible for an institution of any size. Cade Krueger, former National Director of Higher Education, was able to condense the process into five easy steps.
| Step | What to do | What this looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define a clear vision | Identify institutional goals and future vision, and see how your LMS aligns. Note where your current LMS lacks the functionality and usability needed to achieve those goals. Before migrating, get clear feedback from faculty and students on their needs. This further identifies what's working and what's not. | Simon Fraser University assembled a comprehensive committee representing constituencies across the university specifically to align the LMS decision with their institutional goals. |
| 2. Assemble a stakeholder committee | The committee should represent a wide range of stakeholders. A diverse committee ensures all voices are heard. With administrators and faculty having different needs and opinions, it's important to consider their perspectives. | Mohawk College formed an LMS committee of students, faculty, and staff to test platforms before making a decision. |
| 3. Develop a phased timeline | Create and share a plan with the committee, keeping everyone informed with expectations and updates. Set up a timeline of events to keep the migration on track. In case of any setbacks, communicate adjustments or updates to the plan. | Cal State Fullerton set a one-year migration timeline deliberately, with the CIO noting, "Agile project management is a must. Stretching out migrations over multiple years creates more issues." |
| 4. Drive campus awareness | Make sure faculty and students know the migration is coming. A campus-wide marketing campaign can prompt interest and anticipation for the transition. Add to the excitement with product swag. Further prepare the institution for change with demos, workshops, and training courses. | Howard University built a dedicated website for the Canvas transition and communicated early and consistently. Their assistant provost credited that approach directly for positive faculty response, saying, "Many people felt empowered that they had a choice." |
| 5. Cultivate an ecosystem partnership | Take advantage of the responsive support and academic solutions your LMS provider offers. A good provider encourages collaboration across institutions. Join community groups and explore forums to form long-lasting partnerships. | Harding University's administrator said their Canvas customer success manager was a critical part of their migration success, noting, "We meet monthly and that has really helped us to make sure we're on top of things. She is my person if I need to get the inside scoop on something." |
Although change can be difficult, not changing can be even harder in the long run. Thousands of institutions have migrated to Canvas because the LMS, assessment, credentialing, and AI tools are built to work together, backed by the largest user community in edtech and a partner network of more than 11,000 tools.
Explore the Instructure learning ecosystem
The Instructure Learning Ecosystem is a single, integrated platform built for the future of learning. It includes:
Canvas
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Canvas LMS: The digital foundation for all aspects of learning. Canvas delivers dynamic, engaging learning experiences for next-level curriculum and instruction. Access everything in one place, support mobile and asynchronous learning, view interactive analytics, and increase overall productivity.
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Canvas Studio: Integrate media into courses, turning passive instruction into active, engaging lessons. Use Studio to create interactive modules and incorporate media directly into quizzes, assignments, and discussions.
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Canvas Catalog: Centralize course and program offerings in a branded marketplace. Catalog makes it easy to showcase what your institution has to offer to current students and prospective ones.
- Canvas Career: Purpose-built for skills-based, non-degree, and professional learning. Canvas Career maps learning to in-demand skills, reduces manual work with AI, and measures outcomes at scale to connect training directly to employability.
Mastery
- Mastery Connect: Inform and improve teaching and learning with standards-aligned assessments and real-time insights. Mastery Connect lets educators identify exactly where students are and what they need next, without waiting for end-of-term results.
- Mastery Item Bank: Build high-quality formative assessments faster with a curated bank of standards-aligned items. Teachers spend less time writing questions and more time acting on the answers.
Parchment
- Parchment: Help institutions manage records, help employers verify skills, and help learners access opportunity. Parchment handles credential issuance, transcript management, and digital badging, connecting what learners know to what they can do next.
Platform enhancements
- IgniteAI: Instructure's AI suite, built directly into Canvas. IgniteAI includes Grading Assistance, Discussion Insights, a Rubric Generator, and the IgniteAI Agent, which is an agentic AI that can automate complex teacher and administrator workflows across the ecosystem.
- Impact: Evaluate how learning technologies are actually being used across your institution. The updated Impact now goes beyond Canvas, supporting engagement and adoption insights across Mastery and Parchment as well. Deliver targeted in-app messaging, real-time surveys, and guided walkthroughs at the moments that matter.
- Intelligent Insights: Surface the data that helps institutions act. Intelligent Insights gives administrators a clearer picture of student engagement and performance across the ecosystem.
- LearnPlatform: Evaluate whether your edtech investments are actually working. LearnPlatform helps districts and institutions measure the effectiveness of the tools they're already paying for and make smarter decisions about the ones they're considering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LMS migration difficult for large universities? Not necessarily. Modern edtech advancements have streamlined the process, making the length of migration a matter of institutional choice rather than a technical obligation.
What are the components of a modern LMS ecosystem? A modern learning ecosystem includes the core LMS foundation, integrated media tools (Canvas Studio), branded course catalogs (Canvas Catalog), and adoption analytics (Impact).
How does an LMS support skills-based learning? Tools like Canvas Credentials allow for digital badging and shareable achievements to validate student competency.
Ready to make a change?
For more information on choosing the right LMS for your organization, explore our Higher Education Buyer's Guide.
